


High Tension

by Rabakholi



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: In more ways than one, M/M, Romantic Tension, Sexual Tension, Tension all around, The knights are done with their shit, Trapped In A Closet, canon-typical bickering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-04
Updated: 2020-02-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:47:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22560463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rabakholi/pseuds/Rabakholi
Summary: Merlin and Arthur are trapped in a closet, the knights see an opportunity and use it.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 397





	High Tension

Tension had been high all day. Arthur was expected to tend to his maybe-future queen, show her around and charm her to agree to the engagement. But alas, he was busy trying to hide from his father and his men instead.   
The girl wasn’t the problem, not really. But it was just that: She was a girl. Young, with a sweet round face, as blonde as they come.   
He didn’t like it.   
He preferred tousled dark hair, high cheekbones, sharp enough to cut, and equally sharp wits, all packed into a gangly figure, as clumsily as a newborn foal. A figure, which was pressed against him, this very moment. Arthur tried to ignore it, to ignore the fact, that he fancied his manservant, but well. It was quite difficult, when they were around each other all the time.  
Merlin was too focused on pressing his ear against the heavy wooden door, to pay attention to Arthur and his problems. A rarity, actually.   
“I can’t hear anything.” Merlin looked back at his sire. “Do you think they are gone?”   
“Camelot wouldn’t exist anymore, if our men gave up that fast, Merlin.”   
Merlin held his gaze for a moment, then went back to listening. “I still can’t hear anything. And, to be honest, none of your men are gifted with stealth.”   
“You neither. Maybe, if you would shut up already, you would be able to hear.”   
If either of them stopped to think about the volume of their voices, they’d notice how loud their banter was getting, and how it was easily distinguishable from the hallway.   
The very hallway that was currently filled with Arthurs closest men, Leon at the very front. The blonde was glancing at Gwaine, standing at his right. Both grinned their most mischievous grins and strode towards the sideboard just a few meters away. With a couple quiet grunts and careful shuffling, it was relocated and set down in front of the door. It was just luck, that those two idiots picked one of the few rooms which door doesn’t open to the inside.

Meanwhile, Merlin and Arthur continued their bantering. Merlin was really keen on getting out of the closet, and Arthur just tried to survive being in this damn closet with him. Especially when they were pressed against each other like this, and Merlin wouldn’t stop _moving.  
_ “No one’s out there.” Merlin moved again, his ear lower on the door now.   
Behind him, Arthur made a choking sound, when he took a step back and bent, to get in position.   
The black haired looked back at his sire. “Everything alright?”   
“You almost stepped on my toes, watch it!”  
“I’m sorry. It’s just very cramped in here.”   
Arthur distanced himself, pressed his back into the shelf behind him. His eyes wandered down Merlin’s back and- did he bulk up?   
Suddenly the closet seemed to close in on him. Good lord, how was he supposed to handle that?  
“Oh no.”   
Cold shivers ran down Arthurs back at the tone of Merlin’s voice.   
“What? What’s wrong?”   
“The door doesn’t open.”   
“That can’t be. Merlin, did you grow to weak to even open a simple door?” He scoffed, an attempt to distract himself.   
“No, I am very capable of opening doors, _my prince.”_   
The usage of his title shouldn’t feel Arthur with such excitement, but it did. He pushed it aside.   
“Let me.”   
“It doesn’t open, Arthur.”   
“Just let me-“ They wrestled with each other, flailing limbs and hissed curses, until Arthur just seized Merlin around the waist and bodily picked him up, to change places with him.   
Merlin let out a squeak, hands wrapped around Arthurs forearm.   
He almost missed it, when Arthur set him down and let go.   
Why did he have to be royalty? If he was just some peasant, a villager – no one would care.   
More curses. The King pushed against the door, threw himself against it, but it didn’t budge.   
(Outside, the knights were pushing the furniture back against the door, to stop it from moving.)  
“It’s hopeless.”   
“It’s your fault.”, Arthur hissed. He was getting anxious, his skin itchy as his time with Merlin extended to an unknown period of time.   
He usually delighted in his presence, loved having his sweet face dangling in front of him all day. But the possibility of anyone coming it at any moment, catching them, helped immensely in keeping his straying thoughts and wants in check.   
But now?   
Goodness gracious, all he could smell was Merlin, herbs and polish and his very own note. He could feel the warmth radiating from him, and it drove him insane, if he was honest.   
“How is it my fault?”   
“You were the one pulling me in here.”  
“You were running from your father!”, Merlin answered, exasperated. “How was I supposed to know the door would get stuck?”   
Arthur just waved a hand through the air, dismissing him.   
“You’re supposed to know things.”   
Merlin huffed, murmured something under his breath.   
“What?”   
“Nothing, sire.”   
“Shut up.”   
“Make me.” How just two words could have such an incredible impact. The air was charged in an instant, the hair on their arms standing up, skin prickling.  
Arthurs eyes were focused on Merlin’s face, watching him closely. It made him squirm, being unsure how to act. The closet was tiny, and he could feel Arthurs thighs against his, his brain replaying how his body had felt against his own, when he’d had lifted Merlin.   
Merlin shifted, aligning their bodies. He couldn’t hide the way he gasped for breath, and Arthur couldn’t hide the way his pupils dilated.   
How long were they going to dance around each other like this?  
He could feel Arthurs hand curl around his hip, holding him still, pulling him closer – He didn’t even know himself.  
“What are you doing?”, Merlin asked, his voice loud in the tiny space.   
“ _Shut up_.”   
Arthurs hand came up, grabbed Merlin’s scarf and pulled him in, pulled him flush against his own chest. Their lips met, a groan ringed through the air – they couldn’t say whose it was.   
When they parted, Arthur was wide eyed, staring at Merlin like he was the answer to all his problems.  
He took a deep breath, the air filling his lungs, but _it was not enough._   
“Merlin.”   
He hadn’t meant to sound so desperate, broken.   
Merlin laughed brightly, eyes twinkling – Arthur was lost.   
Before he could do anything, Merlin’s hand fisted the front of his shirt, hauled him back in and pressed a kiss to his mouth.  
Outside, the knights were sitting with their backs against the sideboard, suspicious at the sudden silence.   
Gwaine was the first to speak up. “You think they-“  
“Sh.”   
Leon gestured for them to get up and move, leaving the prince and his manservant behind, alone, to finally act on their feelings.  
**  
When Leon wrenched the door open much, much later, Arthurs hair was in major disarray, and Merlin knotted his scarf tighter to hide the hickeys.   
Arthur didn’t bother to hide his smirk, filled with a possessiveness and pride he hadn’t felt ever before. His knights wouldn’t care one single bit; they were more likely to threaten him to never hurt Merlin. Traitors, the lot of them.   
But he couldn’t really fault them, he thought, as they parted ways. Surrounded by their friends, and hidden from view, he wrapped a hand around Merlin’s wrist and pulled him closer, pressed a soft kiss to his temple.   
“Wait in my chambers.”  
“Yes, sire.”   
  



End file.
